Tarik D. LaCour - Catholic convert away from LDS church

[drumdude]

You may remember Tarik as one of the few black apologists who presented at the FAIRMormon conference.

https://youtu.be/wijeWn_kdeU

After months of study and prayer, I was received into the Byzantine Catholic Church on Oct. 13, 2024. This isn’t a rejection of the LDS Church but a step rooted in my convictions and faith. I’m happy to answer any questions if you’d like to know more.
7:19 PM · Nov 25, 2024
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33.2K
Views

https://x.com/LonghornJoker/status/1861218098860171288

The brain drain of the Joseph Smith cult continues to roll on, like a stone cut from the mountain.

[I Have Questions]

It absolutely is a rejection of the LDS Church. Presumably he now has to be excommunicated or formally resign from the Church?

[Everybody Wang Chung]

It’s unfortunate that Tarik has left the Church. Now, the only black apologist left is Richard Nygren.

[drumdude]

It’s unfortunate that Tarik has left the Church. Now, the only black apologist left is Richard Nygren.

[Tom]

You may remember Tarik as one of the few black apologists who presented at the FAIRMormon conference.

https://youtu.be/wijeWn_kdeU

I would also note that he published a book review in Interpreter.

After months of study and prayer, I was received into the Byzantine Catholic Church on Oct. 13, 2024. This isn’t a rejection of the LDS Church but a step rooted in my convictions and faith. I’m happy to answer any questions if you’d like to know more.
7:19 PM · Nov 25, 2024
·
33.2K
Views

https://x.com/LonghornJoker/status/1861218098860171288

The brain drain of the Joseph Smith cult continues to roll on, like a stone cut from the mountain.

I just listened to an episode of a new podcast (Rational Theology Podcast) in which a very young BYU philosophy student (LDS) interviewed LaCour earlier this year regarding theology, classical theism, theistic personalism, the future of LDS theology, etc. LaCour didn’t mention his conversion, but he made reference to the Byzantine Catholic Church.

[I Have Questions]

He was pretty adamant about his faith in the SLC LDS Church, going as far as to say he would still have joined the Church if the Priesthood Ban were still in place, and that if the Church reinstated the Priesthood Ban he would stay an active member. This was 4 years ago.

Yes, I would have joined had the ban in place when I was alive. If the ban were reinstituted tomorrow, I would stay. The priesthood ban says nothing about the truth or falsity of the Restoration. Truth is all I care about.

I wonder what happened to convince him there was more truth elsewhere? He also expressed some quite strong views which, if taken seriously, were bound to find the LDS truth claims wanting.

I think Moroni's promise is more an invitation to experiment on what the Book of Mormon says, not to seek a spiritual experience. As Alma says earlier in the Book of Mormon, you need to think about it and weigh its claims against counterarguments and see if it is more plausible than not.
The existence of God is an empirical question that should be decided by experience, induction, and abduction; our feelings have nothing to do with God's existence or non-existence. Feelings are not good enough to justify belief in anything; we should only believe that which we have evidence for.

[drumdude]

I would imagine that just like Dan McClellan, it’s important for him not to speak about LDS in a way that would upset their fragile Mopologist friends.

[Philo Sofee]

It’s unfortunate that Tarik has left the Church. Now, the only black apologist left is Richard Nygren.

[Philo Sofee]

I would imagine that just like Dan McClellan, it’s important for him not to speak about LDS in a way that would upset their fragile Mopologist friends.

Actually, Dan is pretty blunt in the introduction of his new book on this subject. Kudos to him!

[Kishkumen]

Tarik is an interesting fellow. He is very open about his change of spiritual homes on Facebook. He often posts images of the saints, and he is a fan of Pope Leo XIII. From my interactions with him, it seems that he is a traditionalist and not a fan of modernism. He does, however, still attend the LDS Church with his family members, who are still LDS. He continues to be engaged with the LDS Church and still has many LDS friends. He remains intellectually active in the LDS sphere, as well. So, it is difficult to pin him down exactly. I think he is absolutely sincere and serious about his spiritual commitments, but he is also impossible to pigeonhole.